“Everything happens for the best,” my mother said whenever I faced disappointment. “If you carry on, one day something good will happen. And you’ll realize that it wouldn’t have happened if not for that previous disappointment.”
Mother was right, as I discovered after graduating from college in 1932, I had decided to try for a job in radio, then work my way up to a sports announcer. I hitchhiked to Chicago and knocked on the door of every station—and got turned down every time. In one studio, a kind lady told me that big stations couldn’t risk hiring an inexperienced person. “Go
out in the sticks and find a small station that’ll give you a chance,” she said. I thumbed home to Dixon, Illinois.
While there were no radio-announcing jobs in Dixon, my father said Montgomery Ward had opened a store and wanted a local athlete to manage its sports department. Since Dixon was where I had played high school football, I applied. The job sounded just right for me. But I wasn’t hired. My disappointment must have shown. “Everything happens for the best.” Mom reminded me. Dad offered me the car to hunt a job. I tried WOC Radio in Davenport, Iowa. The program director, a wonderful Scotsman named Peter MacArthur told me they had already hired an announcer.
As I left his office, my frustration (挫折) boiled over. I asked aloud, “How can a fellow get to be a sports announcer if he can’t get a job in a radio station?” I was waiting for the elevator when I heard MacArthur calling, “What was you said about sports? Do you know anything about football?” Then he stood me before a microphone and asked me to broadcast an imaginary game. The preceding (在前的) autumn, my team had won a game in the last 20 seconds with a 65-yard run. I did a 15-minute build-up to that play, and Peter told me I would be broadcasting Saturday’s game! On my way home, as I have many times since, I thought of my mother’s words: “If you carry on, one day something good will happen. Something wouldn’t have happened if not for that previous disappointment.”
I often wonder what direction my life might have taken
if I’d gotten the job at Montgomery Ward.
小题1:The writer shows his _____ by saying “…
if I’d not gotten the job at Montgomery Ward”.
| A．regret | B．happiness | C．gratefulness | D．disappointment |
小题2: The underlined phrase “
out in the sticks” probably means _____?
| A．in radio stations | B．in the country |
| C．in big cities | D．in Dixon, Illinois |
小题3: Why did the writer mention his mother’s words over and again? Because _____.
| A．it was his mother’s words that encouraged him |
| B．his mother was a person who talked a lot |
| C．nothing good has happened to him up to now |
| D．he got turned down every time he tried |
小题4: Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
| A．There was a small radio station in Dixon, Illinois. |
| B．Peter MacArthur was a program director in Scotland. |
| C．WOC Radio in Davenport broadcast imaginary games. |
| D．Montgomery Ward had a store with a sports department. |
小题5:When did the writer decide to take a radio-announcing job?
| A．When he hitchhiked to Chicago. | B．After he graduated from college. |
| C．Before he graduated from college. | D．As soon as he was turned down. |